Today’s active duty military is smaller and more racially and ethnically diverse than in previous generations. The gender dynamics also have changed over the course of the past 50 years, with more women serving in the military – and as ranking officers – in 2017 than ever before.

These demographic changes in the active forces also have been reshaping the profile of the veteran population. (For more, see our new report on veterans, “The American Veteran Experience and the Post-9/11 Generation.”)